Managing projects in a content management system

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for managing projects in a content management system. In some embodiments, a content management system can generate a graphical user interface that presents a centralized view of a project. For example, the project can include project members, content items, tasks assigned to project members, communications between project members and activity history for the project. The graphical user interface can present this project data (e.g., project members, content items, tasks, communications, activity, etc.) so that a project member can easily and quickly view multiple aspects of the project.

BACKGROUND

Project management is a difficult job and even though computers providemany tools to make project management easier, it is still difficult tokeep track of project work flows (e.g., tasks), manage work product(e.g., documents, files, folders, content, etc.), and communicateeffectively so that every member of a project can find informationquickly and so that every member of a project knows exactly what theyare supposed to be working on at any given time.

SUMMARY

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forthin the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosedprinciples. Various features and advantages of the disclosure can berealized and obtained through the instruments and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and otherfeatures of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from thefollowing description and appended claims, or can be learned by thepractice of the principles set forth herein.

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readablestorage media for managing projects in a content management system. Insome embodiments, a content management system can generate a graphicaluser interface that presents a centralized view of a project. Forexample, the project can include project members (e.g., users, people,etc.), content items (e.g., documents, files, etc.), tasks assigned toproject members, communications between members (e.g., comments,messages, etc.) and activity history for the project. The graphical userinterface can present this project data (e.g., project members, contentitems, tasks, communications, activity, etc.) so that all aspects of theproject can be easily and quickly viewed by a member of the project.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-recited and other advantages and features of the disclosurewill become apparent by reference to specific embodiments thereof whichare illustrated in the appended drawings. One skilled in the art willrecognize that these drawings depict example embodiments of thedisclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of itsscope. The principles herein are described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of devices and a network inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system for managing projects ina content management system;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presenting aproject invitation;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presenting aproject browser;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presenting aproject overview;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presentingcontent items associated with a project;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presenting apreview of a content item and tasks associated with the content item;

FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical user interface for presenting a contentitem preview with metadata history;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example graphical user interface for managingtasks associated with a project;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example graphical user interface presenting acontent item centric view of project tasks;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presenting atimeline of project activities;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an example process for presenting projectcontent and/or task information;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of an example process for presenting a projectactivity timeline;

FIG. 14A shows an example system embodiment for implementing variousembodiments of the present technology; and

FIG. 14B shows an example system embodiment for implementing variousembodiments of the present technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below.While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understoodthat this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that other components and configurationsmay be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The disclosed technology addresses the need in the art for a centralizedmechanism for managing and presenting project data. For example, typicaltechnologies for project management include multiple distinct systemsthat a user must operate and coordinate to perform project managementtasks. For example, separate email systems, task managers, file systems,data sharing mechanisms, etc., often must be employed by the projectmanager and project members to coordinate tasks, share project files,determine schedules, and communicate with other project members. Theseseparate systems, applications, communication mechanisms, etc., canconsume a large amount of system resources (e.g., memory, CPU cycles,etc.) and/or network resources (e.g., bandwidth, data budgets, etc.)available to the project member's devices. By centralizing projectmanagement activities using the content management system and projectmanagement system features described herein, project management data(e.g., tasks, schedules, project files, messaging, etc.) can be sharedamong project members while reducing the amount of computing resourcesrequired to perform project management tasks. For example, the projectmember's devices consume fewer computing resources when performingproject management tasks because the project member's devices no longerneed to run multiple software applications to perform the tasks.Moreover, because the project data (e.g., tasks, files, schedules, etc.)is available from content management system 106, project member'sdevices do not need to download all of the project data and networkbandwidth and device resources can be conserved. For example, theproject members can simply access the project data from a sharedlocation in the content management system without having to download allof the project data to each user's device. Moreover, by pushing most ofthe project management processing to the content management systemservers, the project member's devices (e.g., user devices) are notburdened with storing, transmitting, and/or receiving large amounts ofproject data, as was required using prior project management systems.

With respect to implementing various embodiments of the disclosedtechnology, an example system configuration 100 is shown in FIG. 1,wherein electronic devices communicate via a network for purposes ofexchanging content and other data. The system can be configured for useon a wide area network such as that illustrated in FIG. 1. However, thepresent principles are applicable to a wide variety of networkconfigurations that facilitate the intercommunication of electronicdevices. For example, each of the components of system 100 in FIG. 1 canbe implemented in a localized or distributed fashion in a network.

In system 100, a user can interact with content management system 106(e.g., an online synchronized content management system) through clientdevices 102 ₁, 102 ₂, . . . , 102 _(n) (collectively “102”) connected tonetwork 104 by direct and/or indirect communication. Content managementsystem 106 can include a single computing device (e.g., a server) ormultiple computing devices (e.g., multiple servers) that are configuredto perform the functions and/or operations that provide the servicesdescribed herein. Content management system 106 can support connectionsfrom a variety of different client devices, such as: desktop computers;mobile computers; mobile communications devices, e.g. mobile phones,smart phones, tablets; wearable devices; smart televisions; set-topboxes; and/or any other network enabled computing devices. Clientdevices 102 can be of varying type, capabilities, operating systems,etc. Furthermore, content management system 106 can concurrently acceptconnections from and interact with multiple client devices 102.

A user can interact with content management system 106 via a client-sideapplication installed on client device 102 _(i). In some embodiments,the client-side application can include a content management systemspecific component. For example, the content management system specificcomponent can be a stand-alone application, one or more applicationplug-ins, and/or a browser extension. However, the user can alsointeract with content management system 106 via a third-partyapplication, such as a web browser, that resides on client device 102_(i) and is configured to communicate with content management system106. In various implementations, the client-side application can presenta user interface (UI) for a user to interact with content managementsystem 106. For example, the user can interact with the contentmanagement system 106 via a client-side application integrated with thefile system or via a webpage displayed using a web browser application.

Content management system 106 can enable a user to store content items,as well as perform a variety of content management tasks, such asretrieve, modify, browse, and/or share the content items. Furthermore,content management system 106 can enable a user to access content frommultiple client devices 102. For example, client device 102 _(i) canupload content to content management system 106 via network 104. Later,the same client device 102 _(i) or some other client device 102 _(j) canretrieve the content from content management system 106.

To facilitate the various content management services, a user can createan account with content management system 106. User account database 150can maintain the account information. User account database 150 canstore profile information for registered users. In some cases, the onlypersonal information in the user profile can be a username and/or emailaddress. However, content management system 106 can also be configuredto accept additional user information such as birthday, address, billinginformation, etc.

User account database 150 can include account management information,such as account type (e.g., various tiers of free or paid accounts),usage information, (e.g. file edit history), maximum storage spaceauthorized, storage space used, content storage locations, securitysettings, personal configuration settings, content sharing data, etc.Account management module 124 can be configured to update and/or obtainuser account details in user account database 150. The accountmanagement module 124 can be configured to interact with any number ofothers in content management system 106.

An account can be used to store content items, such as digital data,documents, text files, audio files, image files, video files, etc., fromone or more client devices 102 authorized on the account. The contentitems can also include collections for grouping content items togetherwith different behaviors, such as folders, playlists, albums, etc. Forexample, an account can include a public folder that is accessible toany user. The public folder can be assigned a web-accessible address. Alink to the web-accessible address can be used to access the contents ofthe public folder. In another example, an account can include: a photoscollection that is intended for photos and that provides specificattributes and actions tailored for photos; an audio collection thatprovides the ability to play back audio files and perform other audiorelated actions; or other special purpose collection. An account canalso include shared collections or group collections that are linkedwith and available to multiple user accounts. The permissions formultiple users may be different for a shared collection.

The content items can be stored in content storage 160. Content storage160 can be a storage device, multiple storage devices, or a server.Alternatively, content storage 160 can be a cloud storage provider ornetwork storage accessible via one or more communications networks.Content management system 106 can hide the complexity and details fromclient devices 102 so that client devices 102 do not need to knowexactly where or how the content items are being stored by contentmanagement system 106. In some embodiments, content management system106 can store the content items in the same collection hierarchy as theyappear on client device 102 _(i). However, content management system 106can store the content items in its own order, arrangement, or hierarchy.Content management system 106 can store the content items in a networkaccessible storage (NAS) device, in a redundant array of independentdisks (RAID), etc. Content storage 160 can store content items using oneor more partition types, such as FAT, FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3, EXT4,HFS/HFS+, BTRFS, and so forth.

Content storage 160 can also store metadata describing content items,content item types, and the relationship of content items to variousaccounts, collections, or groups. Content storage 160 can store themetadata for a content item as part of the content item or separatelyfrom the content item. In some variations, each content item stored incontent storage 160 can be assigned a system-wide unique identifier.

Content storage 160 can decrease the amount of storage space required byidentifying duplicate content items or duplicate segments of contentitems. Instead of storing multiple copies, content storage 160 can storea single copy and then use a pointer or other mechanism to link theduplicates to the single copy. Similarly, content storage 160 can storecontent items more efficiently, as well as provide the ability to undooperations, by using a content item version control that tracks changesto content items, different versions of content items (includingdiverging version trees), and a change history. The change history caninclude a set of changes that, when applied to the original content itemversion, produce the changed content item version.

Content management system 106 can be configured to support automaticsynchronization of content items with one or more client devices 102.The synchronization can be platform agnostic. That is, the content itemscan be synchronized across multiple client devices 102 of varying type,capabilities, operating systems, etc. For example, client device 102_(i) can include client software, which synchronizes, via asynchronization module 132 at content management system 106, content inclient device 102 _(i)'s file system with the content in an associateduser account. In some cases, the client software can synchronize anychanges to content in a designated collection and its sub-collections,such as new, deleted, modified, copied, or moved content items orcollections. The client software can be a separate software application,can integrate with an existing content management application in theoperating system, or some combination thereof. In some implementationsof client software that integrates with an existing content managementapplication, a user can manipulate content items directly in a localcollection, while a background process monitors the local collection forchanges and synchronizes those changes to content management system 106.Conversely, the background process can identify content items that havebeen updated at content management system 106 and synchronize thosechanges to the local collection. The client software can providenotifications of synchronization operations, and can provide indicationsof content statuses directly within the content management application.Sometimes client device 102 _(i) may not have a network connectionavailable. In this scenario, the client software can monitor the linkedcollection for content item changes and queue those changes for latersynchronization to content management system 106 when a networkconnection is available. Similarly, a user can manually start, stop,pause, or resume synchronization with content management system 106.

A user can view or manipulate content stored in a user account via a webinterface generated and served by user interface module 122. Forexample, the user can navigate in a web browser to a web addressprovided by content management system 106. Changes or updates to contentin the content storage 160 made through the web interface, such asuploading a new version of a content item, can be propagated back toother client devices 102 associated with the user's account. Forexample, multiple client devices 102, each with their own clientsoftware, can be associated with a single account and content items inthe account can be synchronized between each of the multiple clientdevices 102.

Content management system 106 can include a communications interface 120for interfacing with various client devices 102, and can interact withother content and/or service providers 109 ₁, 109 ₂, . . . , 109 _(n)(collectively “109”) via an Application Program Interface (API). Certainsoftware applications can access content storage 160 via an API onbehalf of a user. For example, a software package, such as an apprunning on a smartphone or tablet computing device, can programmaticallymake calls directly to content management system 106, when a userprovides authentication credentials, to read, write, create, delete,share, or otherwise manipulate content. Similarly, the API can allowusers to access all or part of content storage 160 through a web site.

Content management system 106 can also include authenticator module 126,which can verify user credentials, security tokens, API calls, specificclient devices, and so forth, to ensure only authorized clients andusers can access content items. Further, content management system 106can include analytics module 134 module that can track and report onaggregate file operations, user actions, network usage, total storagespace used, as well as other technology, usage, or business metrics. Aprivacy and/or security policy can prevent unauthorized access to userdata stored with content management system 106.

Content management system 106 can include sharing module 130 formanaging sharing content publicly or privately. Sharing content publiclycan include making the content item accessible from any computing devicein network communication with content management system 106. Sharingcontent privately can include linking a content item in content storage160 with two or more user accounts so that each user account has accessto the content item. The sharing can be performed in a platform agnosticmanner. That is, the content can be shared across multiple clientdevices 102 of varying type, capabilities, operating systems, etc. Thecontent can also be shared across varying types of user accounts.

In some embodiments, content management system 106 can include contentitem management module 128 for maintaining a content directory. Thecontent directory can identify the location of each content item incontent storage 160. The content directory can include a unique contententry for each content item stored in the content storage.

A content entry can include a content path that can be used to identifythe location of the content item in a content management system. Forexample, the content path can include the name of the content item and afolder hierarchy associated with the content item. For example, thecontent path can include a folder or path of folders in which thecontent item is placed as well as the name of the content item. Contentitem management module 128 can use the content path to present thecontent items in the appropriate folder hierarchy.

A content entry can also include a content pointer that identifies thelocation of the content item in content storage 160. For example, thecontent pointer can include the exact storage address of the contentitem in memory. In some embodiments, the content pointer can point tomultiple locations, each of which contains a portion of the contentitem.

In addition to a content path and content pointer, a content entry canalso include a user account identifier that identifies the user accountthat has access to the content item. In some embodiments, multiple useraccount identifiers can be associated with a single content entryindicating that the content item has shared access by the multiple useraccounts.

To share a content item privately, sharing module 130 can be configuredto add a user account identifier to the content entry associated withthe content item, thus granting the added user account access to thecontent item. Sharing module 130 can also be configured to remove useraccount identifiers from a content entry to restrict a user account'saccess to the content item.

To share content publicly, sharing module 130 can be configured togenerate a custom network address, such as a uniform resource locator(URL), which allows any web browser to access the content in contentmanagement system 106 without any authentication. To accomplish this,sharing module 130 can be configured to include content identificationdata in the generated URL, which can later be used to properly identifyand return the requested content item. For example, sharing module 130can be configured to include the user account identifier and the contentpath in the generated URL. Upon selection of the URL, the contentidentification data included in the URL can be transmitted to contentmanagement system 106 which can use the received content identificationdata to identify the appropriate content entry and return the contentitem associated with the content entry.

In addition to generating the URL, sharing module 130 can also beconfigured to record that a URL to the content item has been created. Insome embodiments, the content entry associated with a content item caninclude a URL flag indicating whether a URL to the content item has beencreated. For example, the URL flag can be a Boolean value initially setto 0 or false to indicate that a URL to the content item has not beencreated. Sharing module 130 can be configured to change the value of theflag to 1 or true after generating a URL to the content item.

In some embodiments, sharing module 130 can also be configured todeactivate a generated URL. For example, each content entry can alsoinclude a URL active flag indicating whether the content should bereturned in response to a request from the generated URL. For example,sharing module 130 can be configured to only return a content itemrequested by a generated link if the URL active flag is set to 1 ortrue. Thus, access to a content item for which a URL has been generatedcan be easily restricted by changing the value of the URL active flag.This allows a user to restrict access to the shared content item withouthaving to move the content item or delete the generated URL. Likewise,sharing module 130 can reactivate the URL by again changing the value ofthe URL active flag to 1 or true. A user can thus easily restore accessto the content item without the need to generate a new URL.

In some embodiments, content management system 106 can include contentitem management module 128. For example, content item management module128 can monitor content items managed by content management system 106and collect and distribute state information describing the current userinteraction state of the content items. For example, the interactionstate can include activities that the user is performing orparticipating in relative to a content item. The interaction state canbe, for example, that the user is viewing a content item, editing acontent item, adding or has added a content item, or any other userinteraction, as may be described below.

For example, content item management module 128 can monitor contentitems to determine which users are currently interacting with thecontent items and send this interaction information to contentmanagement system clients running on client devices 102 _(i). Forexample, when a user is interacting with a content item on a serverdevice of content management system 106, content item management module128 can monitor the interaction, generate state information describingthe interaction, and send the interaction state information to contentmanagement system clients so that the interaction state information canbe presented with the content items on the client device.

When a user is interacting with a content item on a client device 102_(i), the content management system client running on client device 102_(i) can monitor the interaction between the user of client device 102_(i) and the content item. The content management system client can thenreport the interaction state to content item management module 128(e.g., during synchronization). Content item management module 128 canthen distribute the interaction state information to other contentmanagement system clients running on other client devices 102 _(i). Forexample, the interaction state information for a content item can bedistributed as metadata for the content item when the content item (andmetadata) is synchronized between content management system 106 and userdevices 102 _(i). Thus, when a content item is shared amongst multipleusers using different client devices 102 _(i), a content managementsystem client running on client device 102 ₁ can present arepresentation of a content item along with interaction stateinformation indicating that another user is viewing, editing, commentingon, or otherwise interacting with the same content item.

While content management system 106 is presented with specificcomponents, it should be understood by one skilled in the art, that thearchitectural configuration of system 106 is simply one possibleconfiguration and that other configurations with more or fewercomponents are possible.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example project management system 200for managing projects in a content management system. For example,system 200 can correspond to system configuration 100, as describedabove. Thus, system 200 can include content management system 106.

In some implementations, content management system 106 can includeprojects module 202. In various implementations, projects module 202 canmanage project data, provide internal interfaces or applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) for accessing project data, and/orgenerate graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for presenting project data onclient devices 102 _(i). For example, project data (e.g., content items,information about project members, tasks, communications, etc.) managedby content management system 106 can be tagged with metadata (e.g., theproject identifier) that associates the project data with a particularproject. When a user provides input selecting a particular project toview, projects module 202 can search content management system 106 forproject data having metadata that associates the project data with theparticular project. For example, the metadata can include a name oridentifier for the particular project.

Alternatively or additionally, the project management system can storeproject data managed by content management system 106 for a particularproject in a project folder shared with one or more project members.Thus, in various implementations, content management system 106 and/orCMS client 214 can locate or obtain project data for a particularproject by searching for content items having metadata that includes theproject identifier for the particular project or by searching the sharedfolder corresponding to the particular project. After projects module202 finds or determines the project data, projects module 202 can sendthe project data to a client device (e.g., client device 102 ₁). Forexample, projects module 202 can send the project data to client device102 ₁ through an API to a native projects client application running onclient device 102 ₁. Projects module 202 can send the project data toclient device 102 ₁ (e.g., to a web browser running on client device 102₁) in a web page generated by projects module 202.

In some implementations, system 200 can include user device 210. Forexample, user device 210 can correspond to one of client devices 102(e.g., client device 102 _(i)), as described above. In someimplementations, user device 210 can include web browser 212. Forexample, a user can interact with web browser 212 to view project datagenerated by projects module 202. Web browser 212 can receive inputnavigating web browser 212 to an address (e.g., URL) for projects module202. Web browser 212 can receive a selection of a project (e.g., projectidentifier, project name, etc.) and send a corresponding projectidentifier to projects module 202. Projects module 202 can find projectdata associated with the project identifier, generate a web page thatincludes the project data, and send the web page to web browser 212. Webbrowser 212 can then present the web page and project data, as describedin greater detail below.

In some implementations, user device 210 can include content managementsystem (CMS) client 214. For example, CMS client 214 can correspond tothe client-side application and/or client software for contentmanagement system 106 as described above with reference to FIG. 1. CMSclient 214 can be, for example, a native client specifically built forinteracting with content management system 106. CMS client 214 can be aweb browser (e.g., web browser 212) or part of a web browser (e.g., anextension or plugin) that receives web pages, web applications, etc.,from content management system 106. CMS client 214 can provide GUIs forpresenting content management system data (e.g., project data, contentitems, etc.).

In some implementations, CMS client 214 can synchronize project databetween content management system 106 (e.g., projects module 202) andmanaged content database 216. For example, managed content database 216can be a file system, or other storage location managed by contentmanagement system 106 through CMS client 214. When project data changes,either locally on user device 210 or remotely on content managementsystem 106, CMS client 214 can synchronize the project data so that theproject data stored in managed content database 216 matches the projectdata stored by content management system 106. As described above, theproject data can include project member data, content items, contentitem metadata, task data, communications (e.g., electronic messagesbetween project members, comments on content items, etc.), activitiesperformed, and/or other project data, as described below. Thus, CMSclient 214 and/or web browser 212 can obtain project data remotely fromprojects module 202 through network 104 and/or locally from managedcontent database 216.

In some implementations, CMS client 214 can present project graphicaluser interfaces. For example, CMS client 214 may communicate withprojects module 202 through APIs provided by projects module 202 toobtain project data. CMS client 214 can then generate native graphicaluser interfaces for presenting the projects data obtained from projectsmodule 202, as described in greater detail below.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example graphical user interface 300 forpresenting a project invitation. For example, GUI 300 can be presentedby CMS client 214 (e.g., a native client, a web browser, etc.) on adisplay of user device 210. For example, when an existing project member(e.g., project owner, the project manager, project creator, etc.) wishesto add a new member (e.g., user, user account, group, participant,person, etc.) to an existing project, the existing project member canprovide input to select the new member to add to the project and causeprojects module 202 to send a message (e.g., email, text message,notification, etc.) to the selected member. In various implementations,the message can include GUI 300 or a link (e.g., uniform resourcelocator—URL, uniform resource identifier—URI, etc.) for the project.When the new member receives the message and/or selects the link, CMSclient 214 on user device 210 can present GUI 300 on the display of userdevice 210 of the new member. For example, when CMS client 214 is a webbrowser, CMS client 214 can obtain a web page configured to present GUI300, provided by project module 202. When CMS client 214 is a nativeapplication on user device 210, CMS client 214 can invoke APIs ofprojects module 202 to obtain projects data and present GUI 300.

In some implementations, GUI 300 can include title 302. For example,title 302 can include text and/or graphics that describe the purpose ofGUI 300. For example, title 302 can display text indicating that theproject manager is requesting the selected new member's help with aproject.

In some implementations, GUI 300 can include an identifier 304 for theexisting project member who sent the invitation to the selected newmember. For example, identifier 304 can include a graphicalrepresentation of the existing project member and/or text identifyingthe exiting project member.

In some implementations, GUI 300 can include graphical element 306describing the project to which the selected member was invited to join.For example, graphical element 306 can include a message inviting theselected new member to the project. Graphical element 306 can includegraphical elements 308 and/or 310 identifying current project members.Graphical element 306 can include graphical element 312 for viewingadditional details of the project. For example, if the selected newmember wishes to see more information about the project, the selectednew member can select graphical element 312 to invoke GUI 500 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example graphical user interface 400 forpresenting a project browser. For example, GUI 400 can be presented byCMS client 214 on a display of user device 210. GUI 400 can be presentedin response to the selection of graphical element 401 presented on anyof the GUIs described herein, for example. A user can select graphicalelement 402 to cause GUI 400 to present all projects that an identifieduser account (e.g., a user account associated with a current session) isa member of. The user can select graphical element 404 to cause GUI 400to present projects that the user created (e.g. projects for which theuser is an owner or manager).

In some implementations, GUI 400 can present graphical representations(e.g., project cards) of different projects of which the user is amember. For example, GUI 400 can present graphical element 410 (e.g., aproject card) representing a project named (e.g., identified as)“Project Widget.” GUI 400 can present graphical element 430 (e.g., aproject card) representing a project named “Project Awesome.” Eachproject card (e.g., graphical element 410) can include a project name412 and/or a project description 414.

In some implementations, some project cards can include graphicalelement 416 indicating a number of tasks that the user has been assignedfor the corresponding project. For example, the number of tasks canrepresent the total number of tasks assigned to the user or the numberof tasks the user has not completed yet. In some implementations,selection of graphical element 416 can cause CMS client 214 to present agraphical user interface that presents task information for thecorresponding project, as described further below. In someimplementations, some project cards can include graphical element 418indicating the progress of tasks within the project. For example,graphical element 418 can be a progress bar that indicates the ratio ofcompleted tasks to total tasks for the project.

In some implementations, some project cards can include graphicalelements 420 representing users who are members of the correspondingproject. For example, graphical elements 420 can include identifiersand/or images representing the members of the corresponding project(e.g., the project named “Project Widget”). When the user wishes to viewmore information about the project or work on items (e.g., contentitems, tasks, etc.) associated with the project, the user can selectgraphical element 422 to view the corresponding project. For example,when GUI 400 receives a selection of graphical element 422, CMS client214 can present GUI 500 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graphical user interface 500 forpresenting a project overview. For example, CMS client 214 can presentGUI 500 in response to receiving input selecting graphical element 312of FIG. 3. CMS client 214 can present GUI 500 in response to receivinginput selecting graphical element 422 of FIG. 4. CMS client 214 canpresent GUI 500 in response to receiving input selecting graphicalelement 502 of FIG. 5.

In some implementations, GUI 500 can present information describing aproject. For example, the project can be a project that a user or useraccount has been invited to join. The project can be a project that theuser is already a member. GUI 500 can be configured to provide projectinformation to a user to aid in onboarding a new project member to theproject.

In some implementations, GUI 500 can, for example, include graphicalelements 504, 506, and/or 508 representing and/or identifying users whoare already members of the project. GUI 500 can include projectidentifier 510 (e.g., the name of the project). GUI 500 can includeproject description 512. For example, project description 512 caninclude text, content items, graphical elements, links, etc., thatprovide a description of the project or resources to additional contentitems related to the project. Project description 512 can, for example,describe the project scope and other information about the project. GUI500 can include team description 514. For example, team description 514can include information identifying each of the project members andtheir roles and/or responsibilities on the project.

In some implementations, GUI 500 can include graphical element 516. Forexample, graphical element 516 can be a selectable element, such as abutton, hyperlink, or the like. When the user is not already a member ofthe project, selection of graphical element 516 can cause contentmanagement system 106 to add the user to the project as a new member.When the user is already a member of the project, selection of graphicalelement 516 can provide an interface to invite others to join theproject. For example, in response to receiving a selection of graphicalelement 516, GUI 500 can present graphical user interfaces that canreceive input specifying new members to invite to join the project andgraphical elements that provide an interface for sending messages tospecified users inviting the specified users to join the project.

In some implementations, GUI 500 can present one or more project contentitems. For example, graphical elements 510, 512, and/or 514 can becontent of a content item presented by GUI 500 to describe the project.A project content item can be a project overview document, file, image,or other type of content item. Selection of graphical element 520 canprovide a to view of additional content items associated with theproject (e.g., tagged with the project name or identifier).

FIG. 6 illustrates an example graphical user interface 600 forpresenting content items associated with a project. For example, CMSclient 214 can present GUI 600 in response to receiving a selection ofgraphical element 520 of FIG. 5. For example, in response to receivingthe selection of graphical element 520, CMS client 214 can searchmanaged content database 216. This searching can locate content itemsassociated with the selected project, e.g., based on the content itemsbeing tagged with the project identifier for the selected project.Alternatively or in addition, CMS client 214 can request content itemsassociated with the selected project from content management system 106.Content management system 106 can search content storage 160 for contentitems tagged with the project identifier for the selected project andreturn the content items (e.g., the actual content items, links to thecontent items, metadata for the content items) to CMS client 214. Asdescribed above, content items can be tagged with the project identifierby storing the project identifier in metadata for the content itemsassociated with the project. For example, whenever a content item isadded to the project, CMS client 214 and/or content management system106 can store the project identifier in the metadata for the addedcontent item. When CMS client 214 determines or receives the contentitems associated with the project, CMS client 214 can present thecontent items on GUI 600.

In some implementations, GUI 600 can include graphical element 604 forinitiating a search for content items based on specified parameters. Forexample, a user can select graphical element 604, provide text inputspecifying search parameters, and provide additional input (e.g., selecta keyboard button, select a virtual button, etc.) to cause CMS client214 to initiate a search for content items within the project (e.g.,tagged with the project identifier) that correspond to the searchparameters. For example, CMS client 214 can perform the search bysearching managed content database 216. In some implementations, CMSclient 214 can send a search request, including the search parameters,to content management system 106 to cause content management system 106to search content storage 160 for content items within the project thatcorrespond to the search parameters.

In some implementations, GUI 600 can include project content item area606. For example, project content item area 606 can includerepresentations of content items that are associated with the selectedproject. For example, project content item area 606 can include alisting of content items, including graphical representations of eachcontent item, text identifying each content item, and/or statusinformation for each content item. For example, the status informationcan include an identification of a project member and/or an actionperformed by the project member in relation to the corresponding contentitem.

In some implementations, content items in project content item area 606can include task element 610. For example, the task element 610 canpresent the number of tasks associated with the corresponding contentitem. The number of tasks can represent a total number of tasks for theproject associated with the content item. The number of tasks canrepresent a number of tasks remaining for the project associated withthe content item. The number of tasks can represent a total number oftasks for the project assigned to a user and associated with the contentitem. The number of tasks can represent a number of tasks remaining forthe project that are assigned to the user and associated with thecontent item. In some implementations, the user can select task element610 to view additional details about the tasks associated with thecorresponding content item. For example, when CMS client 214 receivesuser input selecting task element 610, CMS client 214 can present GUI700 of FIG. 7.

In some implementations, CMS client 214 can filter project content itemsbased on a corresponding type of content item. For example, when theuser selects graphical element 612, CMS client 214 can present allcontent items associated with the project. When the user selectsgraphical element 614, CMS client 214 can filter the content itemsassociated with the project so that only content items of a firstspecific type are presented on GUI 600. When the user selects graphicalelement 6146 CMS client 214 can filter the content items associated withthe project so that only content items of a second specific type arepresented on GUI 600. For example, the type for a content item can bedetermined based on an application that was used to generate the contentitem. The type for content item can correspond to a media type (e.g.,audio, video, text, web page, etc.). The type for a content item cancorrespond to an extension (e.g., .txt, .mp4, etc.) assigned orassociated with the content item.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example graphical user interface 700 forpresenting a preview of a content item and tasks associated with thecontent item. For example, GUI 700 can be presented by CMS client 214 inresponse to a user selecting graphical element 610 of FIG. 6. GUI 700can be presented by CMS client 214 in response to a user selectinggraphical element 708 of FIG. 7.

In some implementations, GUI 700 can include preview element 702. Forexample, preview element 702 can be a window, overlay, popup, or othergraphical element that presents a preview of a selected content item.Preview element 702 can include title element 704 that presents the nameor identifier for the selected content item. Preview element 702 caninclude content preview area 706 that presents a preview (e.g., staticimage) of the content in the selected content item. For example, if theselected content item includes text, content preview area 706 canpresent at least some of the text from the selected content item. If theselected content item includes graphics, then content preview area 706can present the graphics from the selected content item.

In some implementations, GUI 700 can include metadata area 710. Forexample, metadata area 710 can include (e.g., present) metadataassociated with the content item being previewed by preview element 702.In some implementations, when preview element 702 is presented by CMSclient 214 in response to receiving input selecting task element 610from FIG. 6, CMS client 214 can present tasks associated with thecorresponding content item within metadata area 710. Alternatively, CMSclient 214 can present tasks associated with the corresponding contentitem within metadata area 710 in response to the user selectinggraphical element 722.

In some implementations, metadata area 710 can include task area 712.For example, task area 712 can present tasks (e.g., tasks 714, 716,etc.) associated with the previewed content item. Each task can includean identifier (e.g., name, description, etc.) for the task. Each taskcan include an identifier for a project member to whom the task iscurrently assigned.

In some implementations, metadata area 710 can include graphical element720 for creating a new task. For example, a user can provide text inputto graphical element 720 to create a new task. The text input caninclude expressions (e.g., task expressions) for creating a task,assigning a task to a project member, associating a content item withthe task, and/or associating the task with a project. For example, theuser can input square brackets (e.g., “[ ]”) before text to create atask and assign the task a name, title, or description. For example, thetext “[ ] Task 1” can be interpreted by CMS client 214 and/or contentmanagement system 106 as a command to create a new task named “Task 1.”The user can input the “@” sign before a members name to assign the taskto the member. For example, the text “[ ] Task 1 @Frank” can beinterpreted by CMS client 214 and/or content management system 106 as acommand to create a new task named “Task 1” and assign the task to theproject member named “Frank.” The user can input the “+” sign before acontent item identifier to associate the identified content item withthe task. For example, the text “[ ] Task 1+File1 @Frank” can beinterpreted by CMS client 214 and/or content management system 106 as acommand to create a new task named “Task 1”, associate a content itemnamed “File1” with the task, and assign the task to the project membernamed “Frank.” The user can input the “#” sign before a projectidentifier to associate the task with the identified project. Forexample, the text “[ ] Task 1+File1 @Frank #Project1” can be interpretedby CMS client 214 and/or content management system 106 as a command tocreate a new task named “Task 1”, associate a content item named “File1”with the task, assign the task to the project member named “Frank”, andassociate the task with the project “Project1.” In some implementations,the textual expressions described above can be provided as input tocomments in content items, applications, graphical user interfaces,etc., or as text input anywhere else within CMS client 214 or contentmanagement system 106 to create new tasks. When a new task is generatedand associated with the content item presented in preview element 702,task areas 712 can present the new task. For example, CMS client 214and/or content management system 106 can store information mapping therelationship between tasks, content items, projects, and/or members sothat tasks can be presented to the appropriate members, in theappropriate projects, and in association with the appropriate contentitems, as described herein.

In some implementations, a user can select graphical element 724 to viewcomment and/or revision history for the previewed content item. Forexample, in response to receiving user input selecting graphical element724 m, CMS client 214 can present GUI 800 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical user interface 800 for presenting acontent item preview with metadata history. For example, GUI 800 can bepresented by CMS client 214 in response to a user selecting content item608 presented by GUI 600 and/or any other content item presented by anyGUI described herein. GUI 800 can be similar to GUI 700. Like GUI 700,GUI 800 can include preview element 702, title element 704, contentelement 706, and/or metadata area 710.

However, instead of presenting tasks in metadata area 710, CMS client214 can present comments and/or revision history information for thepreviewed content item in metadata area 710. For example, a user canselect graphical element 722 to cause CMS client 214 to present tasks inmetadata area 710, as described with reference to GUI 700 above. Theuser can select graphical element 724 to cause CMS client 214 to presentcomments and revision history in metadata area 710, as illustrated byGUI 800. The user can select graphical element 722 to cause CMS client214 to present only comments in metadata area 710.

When graphical element 724 is selected, CMS client 214 can presentcomments and content item revision history information in area 802. Forexample, area 802 can include revision item 804 indicating that aproject member (e.g., “Frank”) has added a file (e.g., the previewedcontent item) to the project and indicating a time (e.g., “1 hour ago”)when the file was added to the project. Area 802 can include commentitem 806 that presents a comment on the previewed content item, anindication of which project member (e.g., “Ben”) submitted the comment,and a time (e.g., “45 m ago”) when the comment was written. Area 802 caninclude revision item 808 indicating that a project member (e.g.,“Brian”) edited the previewed content item at a time (e.g., “32 m ago”).The items presented in area 802 can be time ordered (e.g., oldest tonewest, newest to oldest), for example.

In some implementations, preview element 702 can present previousversions of the previewed content item. For example, when a user selectsrevision item 804 or revision item 808, preview element 702 can presentthe corresponding version of the content item in content area 706. Forexample, when the user selects revision item 804, CMS client 214 canpresent the original version of the previewed content item in contentarea 706. When the user selects revision item 808, CMS client 214 canpresent the edited version of the previewed content item correspondingto revision item 808 in content area 706. When the user wishes to viewthe current version of the previewed content item, the user can selectgraphical element 810 to cause CMS client 214 to present the current orlatest version of the previewed content item in content area 706.

In some implementations, metadata area 710 can include graphical element812 for generating a new comment associated with the previewed contentitem. For example, graphical element 812 can be a text input box orsimilar graphical element that accepts text input. The user can providetext input to generate a comment for the previewed content item. Thecomment can be presented in area 802. If the new comment includes taskexpressions, as described above, the comment can be converted into atask and added to the tasks associated with the previewed content itemor another content item, project, member/user, etc., depending on thecontent of the task expression, as described above. When the user isfinished viewing the previewed content item, the user can selectgraphical element 720 to close preview element 702.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example graphical user interface 900 for managingtasks associated with a project. For example, GUI 900 can be presentedby CMS client 214 in response to receiving user input selectinggraphical element 901 presented by various GUIs described herein. Forexample, in response to receiving the selection of graphical element901, CMS client 214 can search managed content database 216 for tasksmapped to the project identifier for the selected project to determinewhich tasks are associated with the selected project. Alternatively, CMSclient 214 can request the tasks associated with the selected projectfrom content management system 106. Content management system 106 cansearch content storage 160 for tasks mapped to the project identifierfor the selected project and return task information describing thetasks to CMS client 214. When CMS client 214 determines or receives thetask information for tasks associated with the selected project, CMSclient 214 can present the tasks on GUI 900.

In some implementations, GUI 900 can include graphical element 902 forsearching for tasks that meet some specified search criteria. Forexample, graphical element 902 can be a text input control (e.g., textinput box). A user can select graphical element 902, provide textualinput specifying search parameters, and provide input to cause CMSclient 214 to search for tasks that match or correspond to the searchparameters. CMS client 214 can then present the tasks that match thesearch parameters in area 902, as described further below.

In some implementations, GUI 900 can include graphical element 904 forcreating a new task. For example, a user can select graphical element904 (e.g., a text input control) to create a new task. The new task canbe created by the user by providing text input that includes taskexpressions, as described above. The new task can be created by simplyproviding text input specifying a task name, title, or description. Inresponse to receiving the text input creating a new task, CMS client 214can generate a new task corresponding to the text input and present thenew task in area 906, described further below. When the new task iscreated, CMS client 214 and/or content management system 106 can storean association (e.g., mapping) between the task, the current project orspecified project, content items, and/or project members identified inthe task expression, as described above. For example, when CMS client214 creates a new task, the new task information, including the abovementioned association, can be synchronized with content managementsystem 106 and any member devices using the content managementsynchronization techniques described above.

In some implementations, GUI 900 can include area 906 for presentingtasks associated with the currently selected project. For example, area906 can present tasks (e.g., tasks 908 and/or 910) assigned to thecurrent user (e.g., “My Tasks”). Area 906 can present unassigned tasks(e.g., task 912). Area 906 can present tasks assigned to other membersof the project. For example, if the current user is a project manager orproject leader, then area 906 can present tasks assigned to othermembers of the team so that the current user can monitor progress ontasks assigned to other users. The user can provide input to area 906 toscroll through the tasks.

In some implementations, a task (e.g. task 908, 910, and/or 912) caninclude a selectable graphical element (e.g. check box) that a user canselect to indicate that a task has been completed. A task can include aname, title, or description for the task. A task can include arepresentation of a content item associated with the task. A task caninclude an identifier for a project member to whom the task is assigned.For example, task 908 includes a check box, a title (e.g., “Create UIfor Widget”), and a representation of a content item (e.g.,“widgetUI.pdf”). For example, the content item can be represented by anidentifier for the content item. The identifier can be a link to thecontent item stored in content management system 106, for example. Theuser can select the content item representation to view GUI 700 or GUI800 described above.

In some implementations, area 906 can present a task view of the tasksassociated with a project. For example, the user can select graphicalelement 914 to view a task centric or focused view of tasks for theproject, as illustrated by FIG. 9. Alternatively, area 906 can present adocument view of the tasks associated with a project. For example, theuser can select graphical element 916 to view a content item centric orfocused view of tasks for the project. In response to receiving the userselection of graphical element 916, CMS client 214 can present GUI 1000of FIG. 10.

In some implementations, GUI 900 can present graphical elements 918and/or 920 for filtering tasks based on status. For example, a user canselect graphical element 918 to cause CMS client 214 to present (e.g.,only) tasks that have not yet been completed. A user can selectgraphical element 920 to cause CMS client 214 to present (e.g., only)tasks that need review by the user or other member of the project. Forexample, the substantive work associated with a task may have beencompleted by one member and may require review by another member beforethe task is considered complete. The user can select graphical element920 to view tasks that need to be reviewed by the user and/or tasks thathave been performed by the user that need review by another member ofthe project.

In some implementations, GUI 900 can include graphical element 930representing progress made on project tasks. For example, graphicalelement 930 can be a circle that represents (e.g., all) the tasks in theselected project. The circle can be divided into segments that representthe number of tasks assigned to the user 934, the number of taskscompleted by the user 932, and unassigned tasks 936. Each segment can becolor coded. For example, tasks associated with the user can berepresented in a blue color, while unassigned tasks are represented inan orange color. GUI 900 can include a textual representation of taskprogress 938 that indicates the number of tasks completed and/or thetotal number of tasks for the project.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example graphical user interface 1000 presentinga content item centric view of project tasks. For example, GUI 1000 cancorrespond to GUI 900 of FIG. 9. GUI 1000 can be presented by CMS client214 in response to the user selecting graphical element 916 of FIG. 9.When CMS client 214 receives user input selecting graphical element 916,CMS client can present a content item centric view of project tasks inarea 906. For example, instead of presenting a listing of tasks thathave content items, as depicted in FIG. 9, CMS client 214 can present alisting of content items that have tasks, as depicted in FIG. 10. Thus,the user can quickly see which tasks are associated with which contentitems in the project.

In some implementations, area 906 can include graphical element 1002representing a content item in the selected project. For example, area906 can present only the content items that have tasks associated withthe content items. Area 906 can present only the content items that havetasks assigned to the user. Area 906 can present all content items thathave tasks associated with the content items. For example, graphicalelement 1002 can include an identifier for the corresponding contentitem and/or status information for the content item. The user can selectgraphical element 1002 to view the content item, as described above.

In some implementations, CMS client 214 can present tasks associatedwith a content item. For example, graphical element 1002 can be followedby a list of tasks (e.g., tasks 1004, 1006, 1008) associated with thecontent item represented by graphical element 1002. Each task caninclude a name, title, or description of the tasks and/or an identifierfor the member responsible for performing the task. The user can selectthe check box associated with a task to indicate that the task has beencompleted. The user can select a task to view more information about thetask, reassign the task, or perform some other task operation. Forexample, the user can select a task to view GUI 700 of FIG. 7. In someimplementations, the user can provide input to cause CMS client 214 toscroll through the tasks presented in area 906.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example graphical user interface 1100 forpresenting a timeline of project activities. For example, CMS client 214can present GUI 1100 in response to a user selecting graphical element1102 on any of the graphical user interfaces described herein. GUI 1100can present a timeline of activities performed in association with theproject. For example, the activities can correspond to tasks performedby members of the project.

In some implementations, GUI 1100 can include project timeline 1104. Forexample, project timeline can include graphical elements 1110 and/or1130 representing activities performed in the project. Graphicalelements 1110 and/or 1130 can be presented in time order such that themost recent activity is presented at the top of timeline 1104 and olderactivities are presented below newer activities. Alternatively, neweractivities can be presented at the bottom of timeline 1104 and olderactivities at the top. A user can provide input to cause CMS client 214and/or GUI 1100 to scroll through timeline 11104.

In some implementations, graphical element 1110 (e.g., and graphicalelement 1130) can include header 1112. Header 1112 can include agraphical element indicating the status (e.g., in progress, completed,etc.) of the activity. Header 1112 can include an identifier (e.g.,name, title, description, etc.) for the task corresponding to theactivity. In some implementations, graphical element 1110 can include anindication 1113 of which project member performed the activity. Forexample, indication 1113 can be a graphical element (e.g., an icon,badge, picture, or other graphic) representing the member. Indication1113 can be text that identifies the member.

In some implementations, graphical element 1110 can include adescription 1114 of the activity performed by the member. For example,description 1114 can indicate that the member edited a content item,viewed a content item, added a content item, or completed a task.Graphical element 1110 can include an indication 1116 of when theactivity was performed. For example, indication 1116 can indicate thatthe activity was performed 30 minutes ago.

In some implementations, graphical element 1110 can include a graphicalrepresentation 1118 of a content item associated with the activity. Forexample, graphical representation 1118 can include a graphicrepresenting the content item and/or text identifying the content item.A user can select graphical representation 1118 to cause CMS client 214to present a preview of the content item, as described above withreference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

In some implementations, graphical element 1110 can include comments1122 for the activity. For example, the comments can be commentsassociated with the corresponding task. The comments can be commentsassociated with the corresponding content item. A user can create a newcomment for the activity (e.g., task) by selecting graphical element1120 and providing text input to generate a the new comment. The newcomment (e.g., comment 1122) can be presented in graphical element 1110.

In some implementations, GUI 1100 can include task area 1140. Forexample, task area 1140 can present representations of project tasks1142 and/or 1144 assigned to the user. Each project task can include aname, title, or description of the corresponding task. Each project taskcan include a representation (e.g., textual or graphical) of a contentitem corresponding to the task. If the task does not have acorresponding content item, the task can present a selectable element(e.g., “[Add a link]”) that allows a user to input or provide a link toa content item for the task, as illustrated by task 1142.

In some implementations, task area 1140 can present a graphical element1146 for adding a new task to the project. For example, a user canselect graphical element 1146 to cause CMS client 214 to present userinterface elements for creating a new task for the project. For example,CMS client 214 can generate a new blank task in task area 1140 and theuser can provide input to the blank task to define the name, title, ordescription of the task and/or associate a content item with the task.Alternatively, CMS client 214 can present a text input element and theuser can provide textual task expressions to create a new task for theproject, as described above.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an example process 1200 for presentingproject content and/or task information. For example, process 1200 canbe performed by CMS client 214 and/or content management system 106 topresent one or more of the graphical user interfaces described above.For example, the description below describes CMS client 214 asperforming the steps of the method, however content management system106 may perform some of the steps to generate a view (e.g., web page)that is delivered to and presented by CMS client 214, as describedabove.

At step 1202, CMS client 214 can receive a selection of a project. Forexample, CMS client 214 can present GUI 300 or GUI 400, described above.The user can provide input to select a project to view. In response toreceiving the selection of the project, CMS client 214 can present oneor more of the graphical user interfaces described above.

At step 1204, CMS client 214 can determine content items associated withthe selected project. For example, the selected project can beassociated with a project identifier. CMS client 214 can obtain (e.g.,search for, request from content management system 106) content itemsassociated with the project identifier. For example, content items canbe tagged with the project identifier such that the project identifieris stored in metadata associated with the content item. Content itemscan be stored in shared project folder associated with the projectidentifier and CMS client 214 can obtain project content items from theshared folder.

At step 1206, CMS client 214 can determine tasks associated with theproject. For example, CMS client 214 and/or content management system106 can maintain a task database that associates tasks, projects,project members, content items, and/or other information. CMS client 214can search the task database for tasks associated with the currentproject to determine tasks associated with the project (e.g., based onassociated project identifiers).

At step 1208, CMS client 214 can generate a view of the project thatpresents content items and tasks associated with the project. Forexample, CMS client 214 can generate the view based on one or more webpages generated by content management system 106. CMS client 214 cangenerate the view based on content item information and task informationobtained by CMS client 214 from content management system 106 and/ormanaged content database 216. For example, the view can correspond toone or more of the graphical user interfaces described above.

At step 1210, CMS client 214 can present the view of the project thatpresents content items and tasks associated with the project. Forexample, CMS client 214 can present one or more of GUIs 400-1100described above.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of an example process 1300 for presenting aproject activity timeline. For example, process 1300 can be performed byCMS client 214 and/or content management system 106 to present one ormore of the graphical user interfaces described above. For example, thedescription below describes CMS client 214 as performing the steps ofthe method, however content management system 106 may perform some ofthe steps to generate a view (e.g., web page) that is delivered to andpresented by CMS client 214, as described above.

At step 1302, CMS client 214 can receive a selection of a project. Forexample, CMS client 214 can present GUI 300 or GUI 400, described above.The user can provide input to select a project to view. In response toreceiving the selection of the project, CMS client 214 can present oneor more of the graphical user interfaces described above.

At step 1304, CMS client 214 can determine activities associated withthe project. For example, CMS client 214 and/or content managementsystem 214 can maintain historical activity data that describes changesand/or activities related to tasks and/or content items associated withthe selected project. CMS client 214 can obtain historical data thatdescribes task history and/or content item revision history and generatean activity timeline for the selected project.

At step 1306, CMS client 214 can generate a view of the project thatincludes the timeline of activities. For example, CMS client 214 cangenerate GUI 1100 as described above with reference to FIG. 11. CMSclient 214 can generate GUI 1100 as a native graphical user interface.CMS client 214 can generate GUI 1100 based on a view (e.g., web page)received from content management system 106.

At step 1308, CMS client 214 can present a view of the project thatincludes the timeline of activities. For example, CMS client 214 canpresent GUI 1100 of FIG. 11, as described above.

FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B show example system embodiments. The moreappropriate embodiment will be apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art when practicing the present technology. Persons of ordinaryskill in the art will also readily appreciate that other systemembodiments are possible.

FIG. 14A illustrates a conventional system bus computing systemarchitecture 1400 wherein the components of the system are in electricalcommunication with each other using a bus 1405. Example system 1400includes a processing unit (CPU or processor) 1410 and a system bus 1405that couples various system components including the system memory 1415,such as read only memory (ROM) 1420 and random access memory (RAM) 1425,to the processor 1410. The system 1400 can include a cache of high-speedmemory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated aspart of the processor 1410. The system 1400 can copy data from thememory 1415 and/or the storage device 1430 to the cache 1412 for quickaccess by the processor 1410. In this way, the cache can provide aperformance boost that avoids processor 1410 delays while waiting fordata. These and other modules can control or be configured to controlthe processor 1410 to perform various actions. Other system memory 1415may be available for use as well. The memory 1415 can include multipledifferent types of memory with different performance characteristics.The processor 1410 can include any general purpose processor and ahardware module or software module, such as module 1 1432, module 21434, and module 3 1436 stored in storage device 1430, configured tocontrol the processor 1410 as well as a special-purpose processor wheresoftware instructions are incorporated into the processor design. Theprocessor 1410 may essentially be a completely self-contained computingsystem, containing multiple cores or processors, a bus, memorycontroller, cache, etc. A multi-core processor may be symmetric orasymmetric.

To enable user interaction with the computing device 1400, an inputdevice 1445 can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as amicrophone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphicalinput, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An outputdevice 1435 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanismsknown to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodalsystems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input tocommunicate with the computing device 1400. The communications interface1440 can generally govern and manage input and output. There is norestriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement andtherefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improvedhardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.

Storage device 1430 is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk orother types of computer readable media which can store data that areaccessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges,random access memories (RAMs) 1425, read only memory (ROM) 1420, andhybrids thereof.

The storage device 1430 can include software modules 1432, 1434, 1436for controlling the processor 1410. Other hardware or software modulesare contemplated. The storage device 1430 can be connected to the systembus 1405. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particularfunction can include the software component stored in acomputer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardwarecomponents, such as the processor 1410, bus 1405, display 1435, and soforth, to carry out the function.

FIG. 14B illustrates a computer system 1450 having a chipsetarchitecture that can be used in executing the described method andgenerating and displaying a graphical user interface (GUI). Computersystem 1450 is an example of computer hardware, software, and firmwarethat can be used to implement the disclosed technology. System 1450 caninclude a processor 1410, representative of any number of physicallyand/or logically distinct resources capable of executing software,firmware, and hardware configured to perform identified computations.Processor 1410 can communicate with a chipset 1460 that can controlinput to and output from processor 1410. In this example, chipset 1460outputs information to output 1465, such as a display, and can read andwrite information to storage device 1470, which can include magneticmedia, and solid state media, for example. Chipset 1460 can also readdata from and write data to RAM 1475. A bridge 1480 for interfacing witha variety of user interface components 1485 can be provided forinterfacing with chipset 1460. Such user interface components 1485 caninclude a keyboard, a microphone, touch detection and processingcircuitry, a pointing device, such as a mouse, and so on. In general,inputs to system 1450 can come from any of a variety of sources, machinegenerated and/or human generated.

Chipset 1460 can also interface with one or more communicationinterfaces 1490 that can have different physical interfaces. Suchcommunication interfaces can include interfaces for wired and wirelesslocal area networks, for broadband wireless networks, as well aspersonal area networks. Some applications of the methods for generating,displaying, and using the GUI disclosed herein can include receivingordered datasets over the physical interface or be generated by themachine itself by processor 1410 analyzing data stored in storage 1470or 1475. Further, the machine can receive inputs from a user via userinterface components 1485 and execute appropriate functions, such asbrowsing functions by interpreting these inputs using processor 1410.

It can be appreciated that example systems 1400 and 1450 can have morethan one processor 1410 or be part of a group or cluster of computingdevices networked together to provide greater processing capability.

For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology maybe presented as including individual functional blocks includingfunctional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps orroutines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardwareand software.

Any of the steps, operations, functions, or processes described hereinmay be performed or implemented by a combination of hardware andsoftware modules, alone or in combination with other devices. In anembodiment, a software module can be software that resides in memory ofa client device and/or one or more servers of a content managementsystem and perform one or more functions when a processor executes thesoftware associated with the module. The memory can be a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium.

In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, andmemories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit streamand the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readablestorage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals,electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

Methods according to the above-described examples can be implementedusing computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwiseavailable from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise,for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing device to perform a certain function or group of functions.Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network.The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, orsource code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used tostore instructions, information used, and/or information created duringmethods according to described examples include magnetic or opticaldisks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory,networked storage devices, and so on.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprisehardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety ofform factors. Typical examples of such form factors include laptops,smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digitalassistants, and so on. Functionality described herein also can beembodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can also beimplemented on a circuit board among different chips or differentprocesses executing in a single device, by way of further example.

The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computingresources for executing them, and other structures for supporting suchcomputing resources are means for providing the functions described inthese disclosures.

As used herein, the word “or” refers to any possible permutation of aset of items. For example, the phrase “A, B, or C” refers to at leastone of A, B, C, or any combination thereof, such as any of: A; B; C; Aand B; A and C; B and C; A, B, and C; or multiple of any item such as Aand A; B, B, and C; A, A, B, C, and C; etc.

As used herein, being above a threshold means that a value for an itemunder comparison is above a specified other value, that an item undercomparison is among a certain specified number of items with the largestvalue, or that an item under comparison has a value within a specifiedtop percentage amount. As used herein, being below a threshold meansthat a value for an item under comparison is below a specified otheramount, that an item under comparison is among a certain specifiednumber of items with the smallest value, or that an item undercomparison has a value within a specified bottom percentage amount. Asused herein, being within a threshold means that a value for an itemunder comparison is between two specified other values, that an itemunder comparison is among a middle specified number of items, or that anitem under comparison has a value within a middle specified percentagerange. Relative terms, such as high or unimportant, when not otherwisedefined, can be understood as assigning a value and determining how thatvalue compares to an established threshold. For example, the phrase“selecting a fast connection” can be understood to mean selecting aconnection that has a value assigned corresponding to its connectionspeed that is above a threshold.

Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explainaspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of theclaims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements insuch examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use theseexamples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further andalthough some subject matter may have been described in languagespecific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it isto be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claimsis not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. Forexample, such functionality can be distributed differently or performedin components other than those identified herein. Rather, the describedfeatures and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systemsand methods within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a computingdevice from a client device associated with a user, a selection of aproject managed by a content management system, the project associatedwith a project identifier; identifying, by the computing device, theuser associated with the client device; determining, by the computingdevice, one or more content items associated with the selected projectbased on the project identifier; determining, by the computing device,one or more tasks associated with the selected project based on theproject identifier by querying a content database for tasks mapped tothe project identifier for the selected project, the tasks assigned tomembers of the project; identifying, by the computing device, a subsetof the one or more tasks assigned to the user; generating, by thecomputing device, a user-specific view of the project, wherein theuser-specific view is unique to the user and presents the one or morecontent items and the one or more tasks associated with the selectedproject, wherein the user-specific view comprises a first sectioncomprising a first listing of the subset of the one or more tasksassigned to the user, a second section comprising a second listing oftasks assigned to other members of the project, and a third sectioncomprising a third listing of unassigned tasks; causing, by thecomputing device, the user-specific view of the project to be presentedon a display device; receiving, by the computing device, a selection ofa content item of the one or more content items associated with theselected project; identifying, by the computing device, a further subsetof one or more tasks that are associated with the selected content item;and in response to identifying the further subset, updating theuser-specific view to present the further subset of one or more tasksassociated with the selected content item.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein determining the one or more content items associated with theselected project comprises: comparing metadata for the one or morecontent items to a project identifier corresponding to the selectedproject; and determining that the one or more content items areassociated with the selected project when the metadata includes theproject identifier.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining theone or more content items associated with the selected projectcomprises: determining a shared folder of the content management systemthat is associated with the selected project; and selecting the one ormore content items based on stored content items in the shared folder.4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more tasksassociated with the selected project includes: searching a task databasefor tasks associated with a project identifier for the selected project.5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the user-specific view ofthe project that presents the one or more content items and the one ormore tasks associated with the selected project includes: generating agraphical user interface that presents a representation of a taskassociated with the selected project, wherein the task representationincludes a graphical element representing a content item associated withthe task.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the user-specificview of the project that presents the one or more content items and theone or more tasks associated with the selected project includes:generating a graphical user interface that presents a representation ofa content item associated with the selected project, wherein the contentitem representation includes a graphical element representing a taskassociated with the content item.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a selection of a content item; and presenting apreview of the content item that includes a timeline of comments andrevisions for the content item.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system,cause the computing system to perform operations comprising: receiving,from a client device associated with a user, a selection of a projectmanaged by a content management system, the project associated with aproject identifier; identifying the user associated with the clientdevice; determining one or more content items associated with theselected project based on the project identifier; determining one ormore tasks associated with the selected project based on the projectidentifier by querying a content database for tasks mapped to theproject identifier for the selected project, wherein the tasks areassigned to members of the project; identifying a subset of the one ormore tasks assigned to the user; generating a user-specific view of theproject, wherein the user-specific view is unique to the user andpresents the one or more content items and the one or more tasksassociated with the selected project, where a task associated with acorresponding content item is grouped with the corresponding contentitem, wherein the user-specific view comprises a first sectioncomprising a first listing of the subset of tasks assigned to the user,a second section comprising a second listing of tasks assigned to othermembers of the project, and a third section comprising a third listingof unassigned tasks; causing the user-specific view of the project to bepresented on a display device; receiving a selection of a content itemof the one or more content items associated with the selected project;identifying a further subset of one or more tasks that are associatedwith the selected content item; and in response to identifying thefurther subset, updating the user-specific view to present the furthersubset of one or more tasks associated with the selected content item.9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, whereindetermining one or more content items associated with the selectedproject, further comprises: comparing metadata for the one or morecontent items to a project identifier corresponding to the selectedproject; and determining that the one or more content items areassociated with the selected project when the metadata includes theproject identifier.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein determining one or more content items associated withthe selected project, further comprises: determining a shared folder ofthe content management system that is associated with the selectedproject; and determining the one or more content items based on storedcontent items in the shared folder.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein determining one or moretasks associated with the selected project, further comprises: searchinga task database for one or more tasks associated with a projectidentifier for the selected project.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein generating theuser-specific view of the project that presents the one or more contentitems and the one or more tasks associated with the selected project,further comprises: generating a graphical user interface that presents arepresentation of a task associated with the selected project, whereinthe task representation includes a graphical element representing acontent item associated with the task.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein generating theuser-specific view of the project that presents the one or more contentitems and the one or more tasks associated with the selected projectfurther comprises: generating a graphical user interface that presents arepresentation of a content item associated with the selected project,wherein the content item representation includes a graphical elementrepresenting a task associated with the content item.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, further storinginstructions that cause the computing system to perform operationscomprising: receiving a selection of a content item; and presenting apreview of the content item that includes a timeline of comments andrevisions for the content item.
 15. A system comprising: one or moreprocessors; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium including oneor more sequences of instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause: receiving, by the system from a client deviceassociated with a user, a selection of a project managed by a contentmanagement system, the project associated with a project identifier;identifying, by the system, the user associated with the client device;determining, by the system, content items associated with the selectedproject based on the project identifier; determining, by the system, oneor more tasks associated with the selected project based on the projectidentifier by querying a content database for tasks mapped to theproject identifier for the selected project, wherein each task isassigned to a member of the project; identifying, by the system, asubset of the one or more tasks assigned to the user; generating, by thesystem, a user-specific view of the project, wherein the user-specificview is unique to the user and presents the content items and the tasksassociated with the selected project, wherein the user-specific viewcomprises a first section comprising a first listing of the subset ofthe one or more tasks assigned to the user, a second section comprisinga second listing of tasks assigned to other members of the project, anda third section comprising a third listing of unassigned tasks; sending,by the system, the user-specific view of the project to be presented ona display device; receiving, by the system, a selection of a contentitem of the one or more content items associated with the selectedproject; identifying, by the system, a further subset of one or moretasks that are associated with the selected content item; and inresponse to identifying the further subset, sending an updateduser-specific view to present the further subset of one or more tasksassociated with the selected content item.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the instructions that cause determining content items associatedwith the selected project include instructions that cause: comparingmetadata for the content items to a project identifier corresponding tothe selected project; and determining that the content items areassociated with the selected project when the metadata includes theproject identifier.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the instructionsthat cause determining content items associated with the selectedproject include instructions that cause: determining a shared folder ofthe content management system that is associated with the selectedproject; and determining the content items based on stored content itemsin the shared folder.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein theinstructions that cause determining tasks associated with the selectedproject include instructions that cause: searching a task database fortasks associated with a project identifier for the selected project. 19.The system of claim 15, wherein the instructions that cause generatingthe user-specific view of the project that presents the content itemsand the tasks associated with the selected project include instructionsthat cause: generating a graphical user interface that presents arepresentation of a task associated with the selected project, whereinthe task representation includes a graphical element representing acontent item associated with the task.
 20. The system of claim 15,wherein the instructions that cause generating the user-specific view ofthe project that presents the content items and the tasks associatedwith the selected project include instructions that cause: generating agraphical user interface that presents a representation of a contentitem associated with the selected project, wherein the content itemrepresentation includes a graphical element representing a taskassociated with the content item.
 21. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, by the computing device from a second clientdevice associated with a second user, a second selection of the projectmanaged by the content management system, the project associated withthe project identifier; identifying, by the computing device, the seconduser associated with the second client device; identifying, by thecomputing device, a second subset of the one or more tasks assigned tothe second user; generating, by the computing device, a seconduser-specific view of the project that is unique to the second user andpresents the one or more content items and the one or more tasksassociated with the selected project, wherein the second user-specificview comprises a first section comprising the second subset of the oneor more tasks assigned to the second user, a second section comprisingtasks assigned to other members of the project, and a third sectioncomprising unassigned tasks; and causing, by the computing device, thesecond user-specific view of the project to be presented on a seconddisplay device.